120 seconds to Nihama Pier. The crew in the helicopter goes through the final preparations for the infiltration. The goal is to find the target and extract his memories, which may lead to a larger criminal organization. But this is not a team effort; it comes down to one warrior dropping into the action – one warrior with specialized skills that makes Major Motoko Kusanagi a very dangerous woman.

Bandai and SCEA present the PlayStation 2 shooter title Ghost in the Shell Stand Alone Complex, a game that attempts to blend futuristic technology, a little cyber-warrior action and a society in which individual thought is not encouraged with a shooter-style game. Therein is the failing of the game. While it comes wrapped in fancy clothes, this is still a trip to the local fast-food joint. The game borrows from ideas like The Matrix’s slow-motion evade and gives a wonderful view of some of Motoko’s exception martial arts’ ability, but when you get into the game itself, you are faced with familiar maze-like levels, simple puzzles and a host of enemies. Sneak, shoot, or just pound them into oblivion – it’s all good.

The game begins in the year 2030. Terrorism and cyber crime is still rampant, but Section 9 is there to put an end to it all. Major Kusanagi is the point for the counterattacks on crime as the game starts up. She has a team backing her up, and through each level you will receive mission updates. This is of the “make your way to …” variety.

The major has cyber implants, which make her much deadlier than most of those she will encounter. But you can’t just barrel your way through. The enemy has many more guns that you have hit points.

The major’s abilities run the gamut from typical climb, jump, use facing walls to jump-scale to the top, snipe, blow up, melee with super martial arts skills and, of course, just shoot. Targeting is down with the right thumbstick and it is a little stiff, but serviceable.

The enemy AI is not overly smart. You will hear the banter that indicates they know you are there, but they continue to walk the same patterns, for the most part. The higher the difficulty level, the more enemies and the more precise you need to work, but the linear nature of the game’s missions changes little.

Hacking is the most complex aspect of this title. You can obtain an enemy’s ID and essentially transform into that enemy for purposes of infiltration. Once you obtain an enemy unit’s hackable ID, you will find another enemy, which you can infiltrate and hack, or take over. To do this, you target the enemy, and two spinning rings appear. When they line up, you press the X button to perform the infiltrator hack.

As you move through the game, you can pick up and carry up to two weapons. Switching between the two weapons is easy, and the game does a good job with the game interface. The controller is utilized well, and the control scheme is simple to learn with a minor learning curve in this title.

Game options include training (which is a very abbreviated course that runs through the basic elements of the game quickly), New Game, and Multiplayer.

Graphically the game is very impressive. Some of the animation is a little stilted, but for the most part, this is solid eye candy. The sound is not as wonderful though. Plodding sounds dot the game as the major clumps through the levels. The musical score is fine, but does not stand out.

The code that GameZone received for review also had several Japanese language screens with English subtitles.

Ghost in the Shell Stand Alone Complex reveals a dire uni-world future with thought-sharing and identification infiltration. Individuality is on the wane, and in some ways, any sign of it can be criminal. The game, while offering a somewhat complex backstory, is merely a typical shooter set in a futuristic world that still has so many modern-day elements that one has to wonder what the technological advancements actually affected. Great graphics are not enough to really propel this title beyond the average shooter classification.

Gameplay: 7

The game has more than its share of load times, and the flow is interrupted by the constant messages with mission updates.

Graphics: 8
This game looks very good and the animation is, for the most part, pretty terrific. There are some moments, like when your main character is running, that the game looks not quite right, but the Matrix-like special moves, the “Bullet-time” slow-motion effects all add up to a game that is a visual treat. Unfortunately, the shooter aspects overwhelm the game to the point where most of the special visual features are mired in plodding, typical gameplay.

Sound: 6.9

The voice is decent, but the tromping sound that the main character makes a lot of the time is enough to wake up any guard within half a mile. It sounds like work horses stomping on tin roofs.

Difficulty: Medium

There are three difficulty levels in this game. The game puzzles are somewhat simple

Concept: 6.9

A nice idea with hacking IDs is bogged down with typical shooter gameplay and simple mazes and puzzles associated with mazes.

Multiplayer: 7

The game does feature multiplayer action on the same console, and there are two fight styles.

Overall: 7

The game has a complex plot and a decent idea with the hacking ID element, but for the most part this is a typical shooter. Stylish graphics are not enough to overcome that. But if shooter action is what you crave with plenty of eye-candy, this game is worth checking out.